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Lúthien
Lúthien, also known as''' Tinúviel', was an Elf Maiden of Doriath, the wife of Beren Erchamion, and the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar to ever live. Her love of the mortal Edain Beren, for which she was prepared to risk everything, including her life, was legendary and lamented forever in song and story. She and Beren braved Morgoth's horrors, eventually winning the Silmaril and the respect of Thingol. Though their actions later resulted in both their deaths, their deeds won them the pity of Mandos and a second life in Middle-earth. ''The Silmarillion,'' Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien" Her romance with Beren was one of the great stories of the Elder Days that were told for many ages after she lived. Biography Early years And thus in anguish Beren paid for that great doom upon him laid, the deathless love of Lúthien, too fair for love of mortal Men; and in his doom was Lúthien snared, the deathless in his dying shared; and Fate them forged a binding chain of living love and mortal pain. — The Lays of Beleriand, "The Doom of Lúthien" Lúthien was the daughter of Elu Thingol, King of Doriath, and his Queen, Melian the Maia.Technically, this makes Lúthien Half-elven, but she is counted among the Elves; the term "Half-elven" was reserved for those with human ancestry. Throughout the years before she met Beren, she lived as all the Elves of Doriath did: in a state of perfect blissful peace. She was a woman of incomparable beauty and grace, with night-dark hair, sparkling grey eyes, luminous skin, and a clear heartbreakingly lovely voice that was said to cause winter to melt into spring - ''"the song of Luthien released the bonds of winter, and the frozen waters spoke, and flowers sprang from the cold earth where her feet had passed". ''She also often enjoyed dancing in the woods of the realm to the music of her good friend Daeron's flute. He himself soon came to love her jealously, but she did not return it. The Quest for the Silmaril Lúthien was remembered in the ''Lay of Leithian as the first Elven woman to have fallen in love and married a mortal man, Beren, a Man of the House of Bëor whom she met in the woods of Doriath. Their relationship was unlikely from the beginning: Lúthien was not only the cherished single daughter of the most powerful Elven King in Beleriand, but also the daughter of a Maia, a powerful angelic being of the race of the Ainur. Beren was a mortal man on the run from the first Dark Lord Morgoth. Thingol was desperate not to let Beren marry his daughter, and set an impossible task as the bride price: Beren had to bring to Thingol one of the Silmarils from Morgoth's iron crown. Against monstrous odds, being kidnapped by the Sons of Fëanor and the death of Finrod Felagund, as well as a confrontation with Sauron, the couple achieved the task with help from Huan, the Hound of Valinor, but Beren died as soon as it was completed. In grief, Lúthien lay down and died, passing to the Halls of Mandos. There, in her grief, she sang to Mandos. Her song was of such beauty that Mandos, for the first and only time in his existence, was moved to pity. But Mandos had no authority to allow Beren to live again, so he went before Manwë for advice, who in turn sought out the counsel of Eru Ilúvatar himself. Two choices were then placed before Lúthien; she could either dwell in Valimar with the Valar in bliss forever as reward for all that she had accomplished, or she could be restored to life again with Beren, on the condition that they would both be mortal and die the death of Men. For her love of Beren, Luthien chose the latter.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien" Later years After this, she became a mortal and returned to Middle-earth with Beren, and lived briefly in Tol Galen. They had a son, Dior, who was called Elúchil, the Heir of Thingol.The Silmarillion,'' Quenta Silmarillion'', Chapter XX: "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad" After the sack of Menegroth, Beren returned there and ambushed the dwarves and took Nauglamir back to Luthien. Her beauty combined with the splendor of the gem and necklace to make her home of Tol Galen the fairest land ever to have existed east of Valinor. On her death the Nauglamír was delivered to her son Dior, which led to the ruin of Doriath.The Silmarillion,'' Quenta Silmarillion'', Chapter XXII: "Of the Ruin of Doriath" Legacy The union of Beren and Lúthien was the first between a mortal Man and an Elven maid. Their lineage passed down to the royal House of Elros of the Kingdom of Númenor, and then on to the Dúnedain, men living in exile in Middle-earth, and on to the Kings of the Reunited Kingdom and beyond. Lúthien's romance with Beren is one of the great stories of the Elder Days, and is mirrored by the later romance between Aragorn and Arwen Evenstar. According to legend, her line will never be broken as long as the world lasts.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien" Etymology The name Lúthien means "Daughter of Flowers", from the Sindarin luth ("flower").Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien In Doriathrin, Luthien and Noldorin Lhūthien means "enchantress", which is derived from luktiēnē ("enchantress").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies" Lúthien may have been derived from the Old English word Lufien, which means "love". Tinúviel means "Nightingale", from the Quendian tindōmiselde ''Tin'' means "daughter", and eventually "child".. In Sindarin, it means "Daughter of Twilight", from tinnu ("dusk, twilight") and the feminine suffix ''-ien'' ("daughter"). Background Lúthien is supposed to have been based on Edith Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien's wife. The first tale she appeared in, The Tale of Tinúviel, was in part inspired by Edith and John Ronald's forest walks, in 1917, in Roos, England - as Beren first saw and fell in love with Lúthien in the woods.John Garth, Tolkien and the Great War, Part Three, ch. 12, pg. 240 Edith Tolkien was buried in Wolvercote Cemetery (North Oxford), and this writing in on her plaque: EDITH MARY TOLKIEN - LUTHIEN 1889–1971 The name of Beren appears on J.R.R. Tolkien's plaque: JOHN RONALD REUEL TOLKIEN - BEREN 1892 – 1973 Earlier versions In various versions of The Tale of Tinúviel, Tolkien's earliest form of Lúthien's tale later published in The Book of Lost Tales Part One, Lúthien's name is Tinúviel, Beren is an Elf, and the character Sauron has not yet emerged. In his place, they face Tevildo,'' the ''Prince of Cats, a monstrous giant cat. Translations References Notes Category:Sindarin words Category:Grey Elves Category:Fays Category:Elves of Doriath Category:Princesses Category:The Silmarillion Characters Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth Category:Characters in Beren and Lúthien ca:Lúthien de:Lúthien es:Lúthien fr:Lúthien it:Lúthien nl:Lúthien pl:Lúthien ru:Лутиэн